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I have a new-to-me 2004 Scout 235 CC. It has a 2004 Interstate grp 24 starting battery and a new Cableas Grp 27 AGM. Both are fully charged.
If I try to crank the F225 on either battery individually it just doesn't turn over with any gusto. It is like a slow starter rpm. It almost always turns over on 2 - 4 cranks of the engine so this has not been a problem. On the AGM battery it hardly does three slow rotations before seeming too tired to go on.
Obviously on "Both" the engine will turn fairly happily.
Just wondering if other people have experienced this. I spoke to a friend with the same boat and he agrees that his turnover is slow too. To me the leads from the batteries to the isolator switch look a bit small-gauged but I never dug around too deeply to investigate how it is all wired.
My concern is that my AGM barely turns over the motor. I don't want to be 20 miles out when my starting battery decides to take an extended break and my "backup" battery can't turn the engine.
Perhaps it's time to take the time to figure out how your boat is wired, i.e. is the wiring to marine standards and connections clean including the battery switch? Make a wiring diagram while your at it. A quick way to check is remove one of the batteries and connect it directly to the motor and then try to start it.
I agree but seeing as I have a friend who complains of the same thing I was looking for company. The boat's wiring is not horrible but any means but my last Scout I did do a significant amount of rewiring. Honestly I just wanted to get through this season of fishing and fix it in the off-season
It starts every time (and quickly just like a new car) but the cranking seems labored by my ear and I don't seem to have a ton of surplus juice that leaves me unconfident that there is much buffer.
Time to pull the batteries, clean all of the terminals, put them back and take some multimeter readings to see if there is any notable voltage drops along the cable runs.
I wonder if the Abaco has the same battery runs/wiring as the Sportfish?
Battery requirements fo rthe F225 are 625 MCA @ 32 degrees For 512 CCA at -4 degrees F with a minimum of 182 minutes reserve capacity.
I would check your wiring. When I bought my Scout,it must have been built on a Monday electrically amoung other things. My enginesroll and start quickly with 27 group batteries.
Ok, go to the back seat. The rear seat is in 3 pieces. Remove the starboard side small cushion and remove the 4 screws that hold the cover down below the seat. Underneath the cover will be your battery connections from the switch to the motor. Take them apart and clean them up. Bet it starts better now.
Ok, go to the back seat. The rear seat is in 3 pieces. Remove the starboard side small cushion and remove the 4 screws that hold the cover down below the seat. Underneath the cover will be your battery connections from the switch to the motor. Take them apart and clean them up. Bet it starts better now.
Exactly what rotordriver said. I took the rear speaker out to access the same area. There was corrosion on the positive stud. I replaced it with a new one.
Okay....the batteries are working to crank...are the batteries being charged when the boat is not being used? You've got one battery that is 3 years old and the other an AGM battery. Too me, that is not the right combination...should be both batteries of the same type, not a mix n' match.
If you are not charging them, then I am surprised that one battery is still turning(3 years is fairly old for a battery that is not charged). Check the battery connections for corrosion, replace the old battery, and install an onboard charging system(batteries need to be of the same type).
__________________ Hubs Tub
Scout 162 w/90 Yammie
Johns Island, SC USA
Battery connections are pretty clean. I pulled the batteries in the winter and re-installed in May. The batteries are charged periodically over the winter when they are out of the boat in my garage. During the season the batteries are not on a charger but they usually keep a charge just from the alternator running the boat just like my car
The 3 year old admittedly is about a year or 2 from end of life. The new AGM though I would have thought would be a fine.
Are you talking about the small starboard jumpseat in the Sportfish next to the flip-away bench seat? I don't recall there being a starboard top surface but I could be wrong....I wasn't really looking for one
Look around in the bilge and make certain all the cables are hooked up. I once had a similar problem and found that one battery was missing a ground cable.
The batteries are in such a crappy place (down in the bottom of the head) that it could very well be the case. I was thinking there was a remote possibility that I could miss a cable. Will certainly be checking that tomorrow.
Are you talking about the small starboard jumpseat in the Sportfish next to the flip-away bench seat? I don't recall there being a starboard top surface but I could be wrong....I wasn't really looking for one
Joe.
I never lifted the cushion on mine and checked. I have the 242 abaco, and the rear seating should be the same. I removed the speaker to access the are in question that is directly below the cushion.
Lift the cushion. Then remove the 4 screws. You will then have to cut the caulk and remove the cover. You will be amazed how much junk is under that cover.
Why is there crap in there? Isn't it sealed from the elements being caulked and all? Does crap enter from the bilge? Anyway....great to know where that splice is. I will work my way back from the batteries to those connections. Something has got to be loose or corroded.
First of all I said junk not crap. And yes it is open to the bilge. Connections run from the batteries to the switch and the next connection is under the seat. You might have a ground missing at the battery because you can't see anything when installing the cables to the batteries.
I just rediscovered this thread. I couldn't believe how much corrosion was on those studs under the starboard jump seat. I tried to remove the nuts to clean things but the positive stud broke under the wrench. That was back in November.
I pulled both of those pieces of junk and replaced with Blue Seas 3/8" power studs. They are much better construction than the OEM studs but take slightly more space.
Now I am convinced that the rear power junctions to the engine harness is clean and corrosion free. I even sprayed them with CorrosionX HD to keep them clean.
The bad news is that the expected change in cranking didn't happen. I never really got a good chance to diagnose by the time old-man winter got a hold of me.
I may try to check it out over the warm spell that we're having in NY this week
Joe,
Don't overlook the cable itself being bad between the engine and the boat. I just had to change two of those cables at work on Yamaha engines. After that it was good as new.
Scout 235/242 Yamaha F225 engine cranking 
